ray bans

As a girl who NEVER gets away, this long weekend up north was just what I needed. My roommate is living in NYC this semester due to her internship in the city. I was absolutely dying to get up there to visit with her, sightsee (this was only my second trip to NYC), and eat our way through the city.

I ended up taking the earliest flight I could find on Friday morning so I could get there with time to spare in the afternoon. I arrived in NYC at around 1:30 and got on a bus that took me to city. I was getting off at Penn station (they told me it was the second stop) so that’s where I got off.. turns out it wasn’t Penn station lol. So I bobbed and weaved through the streets of NYC with my suitcase in tow, headed to Catherine’s apartment.

We made a beeline for Ellen’s Stardust Diner (aka the most touristy restaurant in all of NYC, besides the Times Square Olive Garden lol) where your waiters do karaoke while you eat. Honestly, amazing. I felt like I was watching a Glee episode the entire meal but I was loving it!!

After the Stardust diner, it was starting to get chilly but we trekked over to the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) to check out the fashion exhibit they had going. Oh, and we got in for free since it was a Friday! Add that to ya bucket list.

Omigosh, y’all. If you love museums and fashion history you MUST go visit this exhibit at MoMA. It was seriously the coolest thing. As a fashion student, seeing things that I have been learning about in my classes and being able to name the designer or history of it was such a great feeling. Fashion lovers unite!

Catherine and I met up with my bestie from home Gav for a Halloween party. Obviously we had to be burger and fries. Literally the easiest, best costume (and comfy too). We had a little too much fun on Friday night! A slice of $1 pizza was absolutely needed after that night (Two Bros has my heart).

dress // sunglasses

Saturday morning started off on the subway headed to the Financial district. We got Joe’s bagels… omg the best bagel I have ever had and totally worth the 15 min wait. Then made our way to the Staten Island ferry (where we met up with Catherine’s friend from internship, Isa and her friend Sophia) so we could have a free shot at seeing the Statue of Liberty. The weather was perfect and honestly we were scared that the ferry would be freezing, but it was not bad at all!

After Staten Island was DUMBO, Brooklyn. To be exact, the HOME of Dan Humphrey from Gossip Girl. Yes, I was totally fan-girling. I can’t help myself y’all. It was the cutest little place. We ended up hanging out in DUMBO’s park for an hour. The view of the Brooklyn bridge and the city was so gorgeous.

A picnic in Central Park was up next. We racked up at Whole Foods on all the essentials: a baguette, brie, sandwiches, soups, cookies, and champagne. With the picnic blanket spread out, we feasted our hearts out (I was hella hungry).

Sunday was super gloomy and it was raining all day long. We visited our favorite founding father’s grave at Trinity Church, Carrie Bradshaw’s stoop in Greenwich Village and then went to SoHo for some retail therapy.

I racked up on some fabulous basics from my faves: Zara, H&M, Steve Madden, and Bloomingdales. My flight was at 5:55pm so I had to head back to the airport after SoHo. It got delayed so I arrived back in NOLA pretty late.

Thank you NYC for giving me a fabulous weekend and thank you to my hosts who made everything all the better (Gav and Catherine)!!

BLACK ON BLACK MAKES ME FEEL LIKE A BOSS and I honestly wish I had enough black so I could wear it everyday. I don’t think there is occasion when black on black isn’t appropriate? I am so digging this trend for the fall and winter seasons. Did I mention that everything I’m wearing is under $50? See, ya don’t have to spend a lot of money to look chic af.

Each piece in this head to toe black outfit is under $50 (and mostly everything is from Target). No, this is not a sponsored post by Target… I wish lol but I do LOVE their women’s section for basics. I really cannot believe I lived my life without a pair of black jeans before this. I find myself wearing them all the time, but my favorite thing to pair them with is a black top! The cami trend has been everywhere this season and I have been dying to hop on the bandwagon. I saw this one at Target and I was drawn to the simplicity of it — no lace, no frills just a simple v-neck. It comes in a few colors too (I’m linking below for y’all)! I’m typing this as I wait for my delayed flight home from New York.. man did I wear ALOT of black on my trip. No city like NYC to do it in I suppose? :-)

Suede is easily one of my favorite fall trends. It just brings a little something rustic to the outfit and I am so into it. We’re continuing with my transitioning into fall series and today it’s all about the suede dress. I know you have one in your closet, pretty sure we all do. I’ll show y’all how I style this piece while it’s still warm out!

I started off with the dress and then I added the boots…. and somehow I ended up being head to toe in suede oops :-) I think mixing the two suede colors was a nice way to add a little interest to the outfit. For accessories, I opted for more brown tones (these bracelets have been a recent fave).

get the look

Key piece: the suede dress

This lil number is from Tobi and I got the best deal on it! Unfortunately it was on sale last spring, but I’m linking a few similar options for y’all! I love a good shift dress and the lace up from just makes it all the better.

FALL TIME HAS ME SO GIDDY YOU GUYS! I am really loving my neutrals (as always) with pops of color — like these fabulous pom pom earrings from Bauble Bar. Are over the knee boots still a thing? I feel like they’ll at least be in for another season or two so I’ve been wanting to grab a pair for this fall. Nordstrom rack has a few, along with 6pm too! These Dolce Vita ones have great reviews. Now I just gotta choose a color… this dark charcoal brown is amazing, but classic black.. Hm.. I’ve been on a skorts kick lately too and this $16 black ruffled number from Forever 21 is fun and flirty and won’t break the bank! These tortoise-shell hoops just scream fall to me! They’re under $15 and I cannot wait to wear them with all my neutral outfits this season.

To all my Southern gals, I feel you. While everyone else is buying sweaters and boots and leggings and drinking PSLs (can you believe I’ve never had one of those) we’re still over here braving the heat. Yeah, yesterday it was 80 degrees over here in Louisiana (cue the ugh).

So I figured I’d start a little series. It’ll feature three key pieces you need for fall and I’ll show ya how to transition them. With this heat it’s tough, but we’ll figure it out! Let’s get into part one of three!

I wish y’all could’ve seen me shooting this #ootd I was DRIPPING in sweat. This heat is not funny y’all. It’s already nearing the end of September and I just wish we could get some sort of chill in the air… wishful thinking I know.

Given the heat, I decided to pair a pretty summery/warm weather outfit with a military jacket for some #fallfeels. The boxy military jacket is such a strong contrast to my fun earrings and sunglasses but somehow it works. I threw on my favorite tee-shirt of all time under it and some jean shorts (here we go again). My Superegas are making their debut on LGIP finally!! I had been wanting to scoop a pair for so long and I recently caved in. I absolutely love them. I’m still breaking them in, but I have a feeling they’ll be super-duper comfy once I do.

If you’re not into the whole shorts thing, I would pair this jacket with a skirt and tee combo too.

get the look

Key piece: the military jacket

The military jacket is a staple in my closet. I wear it with literally anything and everything. It’s so amazing to layer with other pieces. When the temps drop (not much in Southern LA but hey), I’ll layer a vest underneath this bad boy for extra warmth! Price points vary, but I am sure you will be able to find a jacket in your price range. I’m going to link a bunch of options below for y’all! Get yourself one — I know you will wear the heck out of it.

This summer I’ve definitely become a Show me your MuMu addict. Good thing I have two roommates who share that obsession with me and let me borrow their clothes (lol). I’ve got some Benji tees that are currently en route to me (so excited to style them). I digress though. While I like the printed pieces, I find that their solid ones are more versatile (and less memorable aka you can get away with them more haha). This tunic top is so great with jeans — white for summer and medium wash for winter. The flowy sleeves are so fun and I love the cut of the v-neck. This blue color is to die for!

I am always all about the white jeans and this pair I love because of all their distressing. They’re super comfy and under $40! Y’all know I love me some Old Navy jeans. I’ll link my favorite medium wash pair here (both under $40).

My shoes… oh my gosh my shoes. They are seriously my favorite shoes for the summer! So stinking comfy and they look good with everrryyything. The gold adds a nice metallic pop to the outfit too!

How to score Mumu without breaking the bank

Along with my recent obession, I have learned to shop THE SALES. It’s amazing how many smaller boutiques and retailers have sales on MuMu. Fall merchandise is about to start rollin in so summer items are going on sale (including MuMu)! In addition to shopping boutiques, I check MuMu’s sale section pretty frequently and there’s normally some great stuff in there. If all else fails, you can get a Unidays discount for MuMu (10% off) for your full priced items! Ebay and Poshmark can be good too (ya might just have to do some searching) for gently used MuMu.

i just bought

Is anyone else with me on being obsessed with Show me Your Mumu? Make me feel better and comment below!

Here’s to another Life Lately and being one month closer to going back to school in August (so sad but happy at the same time)! This month was extremely boring. All I did was work all day, come home, make some dinner and watch a movie… so not much is goin on over here! I’ll try to sum up some of the *fun* things I did this month (they were scarce). Here goes!!

RIP sophomore year. If you’re in the sentimental mood, you can read my sophomore year recap post here. It was the end of a true era y’all.

After getting out of school, I headed to NOLA for Kings of Leon. They played at Jazz Fest and man were they amazing. I swear they sounded better live than on their CDs. My sister and I met up with some of our high school friends and our family so we had the best time!! It was hot as Hades so I wore jean shorts (surprised?) and a tank with a neck scarf (my fave accessory)!

Happy Momma’s Day to my beautiful Momma! The day was super chill — we chowed and hung out with family all day! I wore a romper and my fun earrings for church in the morning and ended up staying in it the rest of the day (it was super comfy).

This summer I’ve gotten into a daily routine of coffee and a bagel every morning (I feel old saying that). That little bit of me time is seriously the best. It gets even better when I have some minutes to flip through a magazine.

This is the product of my roomie Maria and I having an impromptu photo shoot outside of our apartment, lol. I love jean shorts (what’s new) so I’m experimenting trying to see how many different ways I can style them. So here’s one…

Ah the classic overalls pic. I think this was one of my most daring outfits to date (honestly it’s not too daring, I’m just boring) so I had such a blast shooting it! You can check out the post here! I definitely plan on dragging my sister around to take more of my pictures from now on since she did a fabulous job!!

This month I had the opportunity to attend Alpha Phi’s Emerging Leaders Institute at Butler University in Indianapolis. There was a group of 50 of us from all across North America (some even in Canada) who were selected to attend this 5 day institute. I came in not knowing a soul and walked away with 50 new friends. Having opportunities like this one are so dear to my heart because they really help me see Alpha Phi isn’t just for four years!

My music favorites for this month:

California Waiting by Kings of Leon

Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie

Touch and Go by Ed Sheeran

My beauty favorites for this month:

Since I started Accutane this month, it’s been all about skin care for me. I’ve had to revamp my entire skin care routine and I’m loving it so far!!

I’m coming at you live from Baton Rouge (where I am staying this summer). Can I get a heck yeah?!! Lots and lots of new stuff is comin at ya this summer since I’ve got some more time on my hands!

Let’s get into this week’s post. Featuring this little striped number (I am obsessed with off the shoulder tops right now).

Off the shoulder tops.

So fun. So flirty. So summery. In my opinion, one of my favorite trends for warmer weather. Here’s how I styled this one (and I’m not wearing my jean shorts so go me!!). These jeans y’all… My absolute favorite pair ever. They’re under $40 and they’ve been to hell and back. Medium wash goes with everything.

No necklace today, in order to show off the neckline of the top. Instead, I chose some hoop earrings.

These platform sneakers (hello espadrille) are my go-to shoe (besides my TKEES this summer). They’re super comfy and the white and rope combo complements any outfit. Go out and get you a pair! I’m linking mine below (scored them for under $50).

What’s in my bag?

While taking doing blog photo shoots– this girl comes prepared. I fill my purse to the brim with all the quick fixes. When in need of a touch up, I always carry some lipstick or gloss, and mascara. My current favorites are this mascara (tried and true) and this lip balm. A few other essentials are sunglasses (can never bring too many pairs), extra jewelry (I swear I always decide last minute which earrings I want to rock), and my TKEES for when my feet get tired.

Super big shouts to my friend Maddie for the fabulous pictures. Y’all go give her instagram a peek, she is so talented.

the girl in pearls

Hi y’all, I’m Madison! I’m a fashion student at LSU who has an extreme obsession with fountain Coke, neutrals and One Direction. Fashion is my favorite form of expression and I love experimenting with my style (on a college gals budget it can be tough). I’m so excited you’re here! Kick iff your shoes and stay awhile!